In March 26th FIAA participated in the Investment Council’s meeting and was represented by its new President Mr. Balazs Revesz, who will have a seat in this council for the next two years.
Mr. Revesz shared FIAA’s support for the analysis and the recommendations that had been prepared by the Investment Council’s team, especially the recommendation to put an increase in productivity as the main priority to address by Albania’s economy. Mr. Revesz emphasized a few points which are crucial from FIAA’s perspective and for which the government’s intervention is needed:
Labor force: There is need to strengthen the availability of qualified labor force, to align its supply and demand, and to keep young and trained talent in Albania. This requires a fundamental and longer term focus, reform and concrete interventions from the government.
Macroeconomic environment: The companies that are exporting face a major issue with the euro depreciation which is increasingly harming their business.
Digitalization: It is important to provide fiscal stimulus to support the companies’ efforts to innovate and digitalize as innovation and digitalization are key factors to increase productivity.
Tax regime: A more broad-based, fair, and predictable tax regime is necessary. More companies should pay lower rates and more reinforcement should be in place to avoid tax evasion. Digitalization is evidenced to be an effective tool to reduce tax evasion behavior.